


Starling City Stories

by laxit21



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Drabble Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2018-12-30 04:25:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 13,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12100671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laxit21/pseuds/laxit21
Summary: A collection of drabbles and one-shots, some canon, some not. Some are short, some are very long.I take prompts.





	1. Team Arrow 2.0 vs. the Loud Voice

Oliver stood in the bunker, with his hands on his hips staring at the site in front of him. Every few seconds, one of the others would begin to say something, only to think better of it.

“This is not good.” He said to himself.

He looked between the members of his team. Curtis looked terrified, Rory and Rene looked annoyed, Roy, who was visiting, looked slightly less scared than Curtis, Thea was laughing her ass off and Dinah looked perplexed.

Half an hour ago, he’d gotten a frantic call from Curtis. The genius told him there wasn’t a threat, but there was an emergency at the Arrowcave. Other than telling Oliver to hurry, the only thing Curtis told him was ‘don’t bring Felicity, no matter what.’ As soon as Oliver entered the bunker, he understood why Curtis sounded so jumpy and wanted to avoid Felicity.

“How….how did this-“

“It was Curtis.”

“It was an accident!” Curtis and Rory yelled at the same time.

“What’s the big deal, man?” Rene asked.

“Have you never met Felicity? She’s gonna kill me!” Curtis yelled.

“No, she can’t kill you, she’s your boss. It would make her look really bad.”

“Somehow I don’t think she’s gonna care when she sees this.”

“Guys, focus.” Olvier interrupted. “Curtis, can you fix or replace it?”

“Yeah, but it might take a few hours.”

“Good, then Felicity doesn’t need to know.”

“Felicity doesn’t need to know what?” The blonde hacker in question asked stepping off the elevator.

“Nothing.” Oliver said, and Curtis and Roy moved to block her view, but they weren’t quick enough.

“Oliver?” Felicity asked sweetly.

“Yeah?”

“My love, light of my life?”

“Yes?” Oliver asked starting to get nervous.   

“You want to explain why the hell there’s a damn knife thrown through one of my monitors? Because that one better have a very good explanation.” Felicity’s Loud Voice made an appearance at the end of her statement.

Rory, Rene and Dinah all jumped slightly. Now they understood why Roy and Curtis seemed so terrified of making Felicity angry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at: laxit21.tumblr.com


	2. Cross-examination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being a vigilante and a lawyer gets a little complicated. Totally inspired by the Daredevil arc where Matt Murdock sues Daredevil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:AU where everything in Season 4 happened as canon, except Laurel dying. She survived the arrow and then retired from crime-fighting.

The executive floor of Palmer Technologies was silent, even for 11am on a Tuesday. After wrestling control of Palmer Tech back from Mr. Dennis, most of the executive staff seemed to be giving Felicity a wide berth. She didnt know if she found it funny or insulting that VPs who, less than two years ago saw her as an opportunistic gold digger, were now terrified of her. True, she didn’t need expose Mr. Dennis the way she did, but he didn’t need to fire her the way he did.

Felicity looked up from her computer when she heard the elevator ding. Out walked a very frazzled-looking Laurel Lance. The brunette let out a sigh of relief when she saw Felicity and walked into her office.

“Hey”

“Hey. Everything ok?”

“Not even close.” The attorney replied. “But I can’t really explain here. I don’t suppose you have lunch plans?’

“Um. I’m meeting Thea actually, but I’m sure you can come with. Unless, you don’t want Thea there, in which case I can cancel, but that seems a little rude and i-“

“Felicity, it’s fine.” Laurel said interrupting her. “She should probably hear this too.”

An hour later, Thea, Felicity and Laurel were sitting in a booth in a nearly empty Big Belly Burger. They made small talk until their food came, but once it was out, the table fell silent.

“So, what’s this about?” Thea asked after the silence annoyed her. “Not that you need a reason to meet us for lunch.”

“Sometimes I think our lives are a little too surreal.” Laurel said before turning serious. “I had a meeting with the district attorney today. He assigned me a civil case.”

“A civil case? Who’s suing the city?” Felicity asked.

“Actually, Star City is suing the Green Arrow, Speedy, and Spartan, in addition to suing ARGUS.”

“For what?”

“Damages the DA claims we inflicted on the city during the various fights we’ve had in the last few years. They’re also suing the Black Canary.”

“Let me get this straight. You, Laurel Lance, have to represent the city while you sue, among other people, yourself for damages.”

“Yeah.”

“How would that even work? I mean, you can’t exactly cross-examine yourself.”

“That’s kind of why I was panicking when I came into your office. I can’t refuse the case without telling the DA why and I obviously can’t, as the Black Canary, show up to defend myself against Laurel Lance.”

“I might have an idea.” Thea said out of nowhere. “But we’ll need to find someone first.”

 

**Several weeks later:**

“Ms. Lance. Please call your next witness.” Judge Albertson said.

“Thank you, your honor. The city calls the vigilante known as Black Canary to the stand.”

The courtroom was abuzz when a blonde in black leather entered the room and approached the witness stand.

“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, under penalty of perjury?” The balif asked the blonde.

“I do.”

“Please sit.” The vigilante obliged.

“Please state your name for the record.” Laurel said.

“When I’m wearing this outfit, my name is Black Canary. Two words.” The woman answered. “After all, you are suing Black Canary, not whoever is under this mask.”

“Very well. Can you go over the events of May 13, 2015? The incident some might call ‘The Outbreak’.”

“Yes. “

Laurel Lance and the Black Canary went back and forth for several minutes, debating what actions by the vigilante were and were not necessary to save Star City citizens. From incidents before Slade Wilson's siege to events following Damien Darhk's Genesis project, every action by the Black Canary was discussed. Finally, Laurel informed the judge she had no more questions. 

 

**Two hours later:**

Laurel walked out of the elevator of the Arrowcave. “That was exhausting. And illegal.”

“But entertaining for us.” Felicity replied.

“Besides, its not technically perjury, Laurel.” Sara said walking up to her sister. “When you wore the costume, you were Black Canary.”

“Let’s agree to disagree. Thanks for the help though.”

“What are little sisters for? Besides, Nyssa is trying to 'reconnect' with Talia who hates me. ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at: laxit21.tumblr.com


	3. What you want isn't what you need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bluedove requested: "Can you do one where Felicity refuses to impersonate Sara's voice to deceive Lance. That's something that always bugged me. I felt that Felicity had a professional and personal respect for Lance and would not want to trick him. She wouldn't go against LL's decision to lie to Lance about Saras death but wouldn't actively participate in the deception."
> 
> This goes a little AU at the end.

“You want me to what?” Felicity asked. The blonde was ninety-nine percent sure that she misheard what Laurel just said.

“Modify my voice synthesizer so I sound like Sara. I can meet my dad, get answers, and this way he'll still think she's alive.”

“So I did hear it right the first time.” Felicity said. “Laurel, I know I can’t possibly understand what you’re going through right now, but I won’t do it.”

“Why not?” Laurel said crossing her arms.

Felicity knew where Laurel’s attitude was coming from. Everyone grieves differently and between Laurel going through the five stages of grief and wanting to spare her father the pain, Felicity could understand why Laurel was asking this. She could understand but that didn’t mean she agreed. This had already gone on for far too long.

“Because I respect you, Sara and your father, too much to go along with this.” Felicity said. “I won’t tell him what happened to Sara, but I refuse to actively deceive him.”

“Why is lying to him ok, but doing this for me too far?”

“I don’t want to lie to him, but in the end, Sara is your sister, and whether you tell your dad or not is your decision. I’d be lying by omission as long as he doesn’t ask. What you’re talking about is me going out of my way to convince him she’s still alive. It’s a huge difference.”

“It’s really not. I thought Sara was your friend.”

Felicity sighed at Laurel’s comment. Her least favorite part of grief was when others got angry and started to throw around the ‘were you really her friend’ comments. The blonde knew Laurel was too caught up in processing her loss to recognize Felicity was trying to help her, by not helping her. Sometimes, the best thing to do was not give someone what they want, but what they need. And right now, the brunette needed someone to keep her from making a giant mistake.

“She was. Which is why I'm saying no, I don’t think she’d want you to do this.”

“Oh yeah? Why not? She faked her own death and hid for six years. She can’t exactly throw stones. Why are you so sure she wouldn’t want this?”

“I didn’t know Sara back then, but I do know how hard it was for her not to tell you she was alive when she came home. It was starting to destroy her. That’s why I can’t do this for you. It will eat you alive.”

Laurel decided to try a different tactic. “It’s just impersonating Sara. I don’t see why you’re being so unreasonable.”

“Actually, I’m being surprisingly reasonable. It won’t just stop after one time. Sure, I could make your voice sound like hers, I have the tech for it, but that won’t be enough. Do you think your dad is never going to try to contact Sara again? Never ask her when she’s going to be in town next? Even if he buys the endless excuses you’d give him, it’s going to come out eventually.”

"So you won't help me."

“I’m sorry, Laurel, but I can’t.”

“Thanks.” Laurel said angrily before storming out of the bunker.

“What was that about?” Digg asked when he saw Laurel stalk past him.

“Trying to stop her from making a huge mistake.” 

* * *

 

“Dad?” Laurel said, knocking on the door of her father’s office.

“What is it, Laurel? With the whole Brickwell situation, I’m a little pressed for time.”

“It’s about Sara.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at: laxit21.tumblr.com


	4. Realism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why Team Arrow's movie night options are really limited...(Season 2ish)

“Why are we doing this?” Diggle asked as he sat on Felicity’s too-small sofa.

“Because. We need to bond as a team. And before you say it, beating up criminals doesn’t count as bonding.” The blonde hacker said, handing him a bowl of popcorn.

Oliver gave her a small smile before asking, “So, what are we watching.”

“Well, from what you told me, you’re kinda a mythology nerd, so I thought _Lord of the Rings_ might be a nice choice.”

“Are you sure you don’t just want to watch that?” Diggle asked.

“I’m not confirming or denying anything.” The blonde said as she hit play.

 

Movie night was going well for the first hour. That is, of course, until Legolas first used his bow.

“It’s not even realistic.” Oliver said in a quiet voice. “He’s not even aiming right,”

“He’s supposed to be like a billion years old, so he’s just practiced a lot?” Felicity suggested.

“It doesn’t matter how hard he’s practiced. Based on where he’s aiming, he shouldn’t be hitting the targets he’s hitting. It’s simple physics, so unless he can also move stuff with his mind-“

“It’s a movie man.” Diggle said.

“Doesn’t make it any more realistic. It’s a little insulting.”

“Do you want to watch something else?” Felicity asked

“No, this is fine. But let it be known, archery is not that easy.”

* * *

 

“You really want to do this again?” Diggle asked. He once again showed up at Felicity’s for ‘movie night’. Oliver wasn’t there yet.

“Why not? Last movie night wasn’t too bad, was it?”

“Oh, the movie was fine. Except Oliver spent days making comments about how unrealistic the archery/fight scenes were.”

“Well, we’re not watching anything with archery, so he can’t complain.”

Diggle’s response was cut-off by a knock at the door. Felicity moved to answer and saw Oliver standing in the doorway. “Hey, sorry I’m late.”

“No worries. Are you ready for movie night?”

“As long as we don’t watch anything with archery.”

“We’re not. I learned my lesson.” Oliver gave her a tight smile.

“What are we watching then?”

“I heard _The Hurt Locker_ was good, and I know you haven’t seen it, because you were on an island and all-“

“No, nope. Absolutely not. No war movies, especially anything about Iraq or Afghanistan.” Diggle said, interrupting her.

“Why not?”

“It would be just like last week, except I’d be the one scoffing. No one who ever wrote a war movie knows anything about the military. Especially that one.”

“Really? All the critics claim it was super realistic.”

“None of them are vets. I tried to watch it once, couldn’t finish. The climax alone violates about eight sections of the UCMJ. Renner's character would have been sitting in court-martial hearings for decades.”

“Ok, no war movies then.” Felicity said, not wanting to sit through more lectures. “Any thoughts?”

“I heard _The Social Network_ was good?” Oliver suggested. Thea mentioned once, when he just got back from the island, that she liked the movie.

“No.” Felicity was the one to veto that choice. “Unless you want to sit through two hours of me complaining about how ‘coding doesn’t work like that’ and ‘you can’t hack something that fast’ it’s a bad idea.”

“Ok, so no war movies, no computer-slash-hacking, and no archery. We might as well add most action movies since they’re real big on explosions now. Horror for obvious reasons. What does that leave us with?”

“Kids movies, dramas about the human condition and comedies.” Diggle answered. “Oh, and Sci Fi.”

“Maybe movie night is a bad idea.”

“Nope. Not happening.We are doing movie night. Right now, look like our options are  _Anchorman_ , _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_ or _Wall-E_ ?” Felicity answered reading off the DVD titles she could see that she knew were safe bets.

* * *

 

That movie night, and every movie night since, Team Arrow worked its way through the ‘Comedy’ and ‘Family’ sections on Netflix. It turned out to be the only safe option to avoid discussions about realism or the rare flashbacks more serious films caused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at: laxit21.tumblr.com


	5. Possibilities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four ways Flashpoint could have impacted Team Arrow and Star City, for better or worse although mostly worse, but didn’t. (Let’s pretend like the 4-night crossover exists separate from the rest of Season 5 because reasons.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the beginning of each section is the same because my brain is fried and it's easier to just fiddle around with what was actually shown/said.
> 
> I'm not going to lie, this idea totally came from an argument I had with someone.

**One-Thea**

“Uh. Jax and Professor Stein found a message from me in the future saying that right now I can’t be trusted.” Barry admitted reluctantly.

“And why would future you say that?” Sara asked.

“I think because…I went back in time and changed the timeline. And now, things here are different than before I left, including some of your lives.”

“Some of our lives?” Kara asked. “Like….like who?”

“Cisco, Caitlin, Wally…Thea.”

“Me? What happened?”

“Apparently, Roy never came to Iron Heights to help fight Darhk. Which means-“ Oliver said.

“Andy never shot him in the head to get the last piece of the totem. Roy was alive until you went back.” Thea said in realization. “Let me get this straight, you just erased the rest of his life?”

“Yeah.”

“Look you can’t just go back and just change things like that, Barry.” Sara butted in.

“I know.”

“Do you know how hard it is for me to not alter events to bring my sister back? But I don’t because I know the implications.”

* * *

 

**Two-Felicity**

“Uh. Jax and Professor Stein found a message from me in the future saying that right now I can’t be trusted.” Barry admitted reluctantly.

“And why would future you say that?” Sara asked.

“I think because…I went back in time and changed the timeline. And now, things here are different than before I left, including some of your lives.”

“Some of our lives?” Kara asked. “Like….like who?”

“Cisco, Caitlin, Wally…Felicity.”

“Me? What happened?”

“It’s complicated.” Barry said trying to evade answering.

“Uncomplicate it.” Felicity said staring the speedster down.

“When I reset the timeline, I did the best I could, there were still ripple effects.”

“Ok, and?”

“There was a Palmer Tech employee who decided not to leave the city when the Green Arrow showed up last year named Curtis. You two became friends. After you were attacked by Darhk, he developed an implantable biostimulant. A few weeks after the surgery-“

“I could walk.” Felicity finished for him, gripping the handles of her wheelchair. “Let me get this straight, not only did you change my life, but a revolutionary device that could help thousands of people was never invented.”

“Yeah.”

“Look you can’t just go back and just change things like that, Barry.” Sara butted in.

“I know.”

“Do you know how hard it is for me to not alter events to bring my sister back? But I don’t because I know the implications.”

* * *

 

**Three-Oliver (this one takes place in a different year)**

“Uh. Jax and Professor Stein found a message from me in the future saying that right now I can’t be trusted.” Barry admitted reluctantly.

“And why would future you say that?” Sara asked.

“I think because…I went back in time and changed the timeline. And now, things here are different than before I left, including some of your lives.”

“Some of our lives?” Kara asked. “Like….like who?”

“Cisco, Caitlin, Wally….Oliver.”

“Me? What happened?”

“Originally, you came home from Lian Yu in 2012 and not 2014.”

“So the Undertaking, everything I went through in Somalia, that never happened?”

“The Undertaking still happened and Tommy died but your mother didn’t die until the following year. And you were able to deactivate one of Merlyn’s earthquake devices. Instead of 1097 people dying, it was only 503.”

“So let me get this straight. You added two more years of Hell to my life, which in turn killed five hundred more people because I wasn't there to stop Malcolm Merlyn, and destroyed any chance I had to see my mother again?”

“Yeah.”

“Look you can’t just go back and just change things like that, Barry.” Sara butted in.

“I know.”

“Do you know how hard it is for me to not alter events to bring my sister back? But I don’t because I know the implications.”

* * *

 

**Four-Laurel/Sara**

“Uh. Jax and Professor Stein found a message from me in the future saying that right now I can’t be trusted.” Barry admitted reluctantly.

“And why would future you say that?” Sara asked.

“I think because…I went back in time and changed the timeline. And now, things here are different than before I left, including some of your lives.”

“Some of our lives?” Kara asked. “Like….like who?”

“Cisco, Caitlin, Wally…Laurel”

“Me? What happened?”

“Your boss didn’t get the flu, so you didn’t go to Central City-“

“I died didn’t I?”

“Yeah. You were there when Damien Darhk escaped Iron Heights. He stabbed you with an arrow.”

“You….you saved my sister.” Sara asked dumbfounded.

“Yeah.”

“As happy as I am that Laurel is alive, you can’t just go back and just change things like that, Barry.” Ray said.

“I know.”

“All those aberrations we’ve spent the last eight months traveling through time trying to correct,” Ray said, “You just decided it was okay to create your own?”


	6. Finding Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Olicity got back together. There is no vigilante-ing in this chapter.

Not matter how many times Oliver Queen went to the top floor of Palmer Technologies, formerly Queen Consolidated, he felt like a kid being sent to the principal’s office. Even as CEO, his first instinct when he stepped out of the elevator was trying to find an explanation to give his angry parents, usually his father. This time, it was a different kind of nervous he was feeling.

It had been two months since the events on Lian Yu. Those two months brought about a lot of change. William was living with Oliver now; Samantha was one of the people who didn’t make it. John, Dinah and Lance were all slowly but surely getting back to normal. Curtis, unfortunately, was standing too close to one of the charges when it detonated and still hadn’t woken up. Once everyone was on a path to recovery, and the thankfully few dead were buried, Felicity had had an epiphany. She was getting Palmer Tech back, even if she had to go through the Board to do it. Felicity Smoak could be terrifying when she was determined, and in less than three months, Dennis was out and Felicity was running Palmer Tech again, soon to be Smoak Industries. Oliver had doubled-down on his mayoral duties, and their night job was thankfully quiet.

So Oliver found himself walking towards Felicity’s office, hoping what he was about to do would go over well. He could see Felicity engrossed in something on her computer and smiled to himself. Neither he nor Felicity were the same people they were three years ago, but at least some things didn’t change.

“Hello Mr. Mayor.” Felicity’s EA Gerry said when he looked up and saw Oliver. Oliver returned the greeting. “I’m sorry, but Miss Smoak isn’t free at the moment. She has something scheduled at 11:30.”

“I know. I’m her 11:30 appointment. “

“Oh, I’ll tell her you’re here then.”

Oliver moved so that she wouldn’t be able to see him when she looked up to acknowledge Gerry. “Actually, could you just tell her that her 11:30 is here?”

Gerry looked at him skeptically but agreed. He went into her office and returned a few seconds later. “Go on in.”

 

“I apologize. I forgot about our appointment.” Felicity said, focusing on putting the array of paperwork on her desk away. “Now, what is this about-Oliver?” Felicity finally looked up.

“Hi.”

“Hi. So you’re my mysterious 11:30 appointment. What can I do for the mayor of Star City?”

“Well, it’s not really an appointment and I’m not here as the mayor. Lunch?”

“What about it?”

“Well, Lance may have told me that you stay holed up in here most days, so I’m taking you to lunch.”

“So he’s been spying on me?”

“More like keeping an eye on you. It makes him feel slightly better and wins him points with your mom.”

“Please don’t mention Lance and my mom in the same sentence.” Felicity said cringing. “Let me get this straight. You went through all the steps of booking an appointment with me just so we could have lunch?”

“Well, my assistant did most of the work creating the meeting, but yes. Besides, you’re a busy woman.”

“And you have a city to run.”

“I’m pretty sure Thea can keep the place from catching fire for an hour.” Oliver joked. “Come on. When was the last time you had lunch without working or having to talk about work?”

“Fair enough.”

 

Soon after, Oliver and Felicity found themselves seated at Table Salt. As Felicity looked over the menu, Oliver knew he was wearing what Thea called his ‘dumb, Felicity makes me happy’ face. He was still smiling like an idiot when she looked up.

“You know, we could have just gotten Big Belly Burger.”

“This was closer. And, William and I had Big Belly last night.”

“Oh right. How’s he doing? Wait, don’t answer that, it’s a stupid question. Of course-“

“He’s adjusting about as well as he can. New city, new school, and the one constant he had in his life is gone. I think we all know this isn’t going to be an easy task.”

“Well, that’s good. I guess.” Felicity said awkwardly. She then went back to studying the menu. “You know, if he needs someone to talk to, you could recommend Barry. He might be able to relate a little more than you can.”

He hadn’t expected her to say that and didn’t really understand where she was coming from. “Why could he relate more?”

“You lost your mom at 28. Barry lost his at 11. If anyone knows what it feels like to lose your mother that young, it’s Barry. I’m not saying you can’t relate, I’m saying Barry is both an outside perspective and knows what its like to grow up without a mother.”

A waitress approached the pair and took their orders. Oliver ordered chicken cordon bleu, which earned a snort from Felicity, and she ordered crab cakes. As soon as the waitress was out of earshot, Oliver continued their conversation.

“I’m still not sure introducing my son to the Flash is a good idea right now.” Oliver said lowering his voice.

“I didn’t say the Flash, I said Barry Allen. Just a friend of his dad’s. I don’t know why you’re bringing the Flash up.”

“I’ll think about it.” Oliver said, and the pair moved on to a less heavy topic of conversation. Their food came shortly after.

 

When Felicity had almost finished her meal, Oliver finally brought up why he wanted to have lunch with Felicity.

“We never really talked about it, you know.”

“Talked about what?”

“That ‘just in case’ kiss you gave me. On the island.”

“What about it?”

“I don’t want to only kiss you when we’re in a life-or-death situation.” Oliver said looking slightly sheepish.

Felicity’s mouth opened but no words came out. “What are you saying?”

“Being on that boat, watching Lian Yu explode, being terrified that you and Thea and John and everyone else were dead, it put things into perspective. And I want you. I want us to get back together.” Oliver said. Silence reigned for a solid minute. “Please, say something.”

“I want that too. But we can’t-“

“Why not?”

“Will you let me finish? We can’t just pick up where we left off. Things have changed, we’re different people now. We need to do things differently.”

“Ok.” Oliver said, wearing his ‘dumb Felicity’ smile again.

“Ok.” Felicity said smiling back. “Wait, was this a date? Did you take me to lunch to trick me into a date?”

“I’m hoping it is.” Oliver said nervously. “But if you’re angry, this was totally Thea’s idea.”

“Throwing your sister under the bus, classy. I’m not mad, I just…didn’t want to read too much into this.”

“So, when is date number two?” Oliver said smiling.

 

When Oliver entered City Hall the following morning, he was accosted by Sheila from the Public Relations department. “Is there something I should know Mr. Mayor?” The middle-aged woman was holding what looked like a newspaper in her grip.

“Not that I know of. Unless my statement regarding the Star City Bay cleanup is being considered controversial.”

“It’s not, the public loves it. I was referring to this.” The woman turned the newspaper towards him and his eyes went to the headline.

**_Mayor Handsome Off the Market?_ **

Under the headline was a picture of Felicity and Oliver at lunch the previous day. Both were smiling and looking happy.

“I can’t tell if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that the city is so quiet my love life makes the paper.”

“This is not a joking matter, Mr. Mayor. “

“I understand that, I do. Other than Felicity and I being back together, there’s not much to tell. I’d appreciate it if we didn’t make a statement just yet.”

The brunette nodded and turned to leave. “Understood. Keep an eye out for paparazzi next time.”

Oliver sighed in relief and hoped Felicity wasn’t too angry about the headline. As he entered his office, he found himself once more accosted, this time by Thea.

“Did you see the paper? Are you two back together? It that where you went yesterday?”

“Thea, breathe. Yes I saw it. Yes we’re back together. Yes, that’s where I went. No, I didn’t know we were being filmed.”

“You’re back together? Why didn’t you tell me you were going to talk to her about it?”

“I didn’t want to jinx it. I also didn’t want to spend all of yesterday afternoon with you pestering me about it. It’s why I didn’t tell you why I was going to lunch with her yesterday.”

“You’re no fun.” Thea said before squealing. “I have to go call Felicity!” The tiny brunette ran out of his office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we all know what Oliver's 'dumb, Felicity makes me happy' face looks like, but if not, here's an example: http://i-can-have-all-the-fandoms.tumblr.com/post/165558078243/l


	7. No I in Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bluedove requested:How about Diggle tells LL no when she wanted to go on the field, my idea would be when LL first started spending time in the foundry in Oliver's absence. So season 3ish. Diggle might say that if she wants to be on the team, learn how the team functions first and how they work together.

Diggle, Roy, Felicity and Laurel had barely entered the Lair when one of Felicity’s computer alerts went off. Rushing over, Felicity typed in a few things before announcing, “Guys, looks like there’s a robbery taking place at Adams and 14th.”

Digg and Roy moved immediately to change, while Laurel hesitated for a moment before doing the same. It wasn’t until all three were about to leave that Diggle said something.

“Are we sure all three of us need to go?” He didn’t want to say it out loud, but he wasn’t 100% confortable bringing Laurel along. Nyssa had taught her well, sure, but she hadn’t worked in the field with them yet.

“This city needs as much help as possible.” Laurel said before walking upstairs. Roy and Digg both gave a parting look to Felicity before leaving.

 

Forty-five minutes later, the trio of masked heroes returned and none of them were happy. Digg was helping Roy down the stairs and Felicity ran to get the first aid kit. The youngest member of Team Arrow was bleeding from one of his legs.

“I’m sorry, alright?” Laurel yelled. “It won’t happen again.”

“You’re right. It won’t. Because you aren’t going into the field with us again.” Digg responded.

“I make one mistake, and you’re sidelining me?”

“Yes. Clearly, you going out there is a bad idea.”

“Are you really going to stand there and give me the same lecture about replacing one addiction with another that Oliver did?”

“No, you just shouldn’t be out in the field with us.”

Meanwhile, Felicity had found the source of Roy’s injury, a knife wound in his left calf, and was bandaging it up.

“Why not? I care about the city, I’ve got training just like you two. What am I missing?”

Diggle sighed before getting to the heart of the matter. “You have no idea how to work with a team. What happened tonight, Roy’s leg, the robber getting away, it happened because instead of working as a team, you wanted to stop the robbery single-handed. “

“Like I said, it won’t happen again.”

“You don’t get it, do you? A huge part of being on this team is about trust. When Oliver, Roy and I would go out, I know I can trust them to have my back. After what just happened, I don’t know if I can say the same for you. and if I can’t trust the team I’m working with, the team doesn’t work.”

Laurel was speechless for a moment. “John, I….”

“Laurel, if you want to be on the team, first you need to know how this team works. I know you want to help this city and I know you want to make Sara proud, but trying to be her or a one-woman army isn’t going to do it. Spend the next few nights down here and observe how all this works. Then, when you understand how this works, come into the field with us.”


	8. Unexpected Reaction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone finds out the Green Arrow's identity, and Team Arrow is very perplexed (vaguely season 6)

Oliver was pacing the bunker, unsure of what to do. This wasn’t like telling Felicity or Diggle who he was. It wasn’t even similar to when Felicity revealed his secret to Barry or anywhere near having to tell Thea. Not only was he taking a huge risk on a total stranger, this decision could impact both identities of his.

“What do we do when she wakes up?” Dinah asked. “She’s gonna have questions.”

“Who says she has to wake up here?” Rene shot back. “Starling General isn’t that far away. We could dump her at the ER and bounce.”

“We can’t do that man.” Diggle responded. “If we drop a random woman off at the hospital with a stitched up stab wound, its going to raise questions.”

“And if the last person she saw before passing out is Dinah, its going to cause a problem.” Oliver finished.

* * *

 

**Earlier**

Taylor Anderson liked her job, even if being a CSI got a little gross at times. When she first got her job at the SCPD her whole family was worried. Three terrorist attacks and one viral outbreak in four years was never a good sign. Especially since, every time, the police force seemed to be a target.

Taylor was just finishing her evidence report when she ran into one of Star City’s newest officers, Dinah Drake. This caused both Taylor and Dinah to drop the files they were holding. “Oh, sorry Officer Drake.”

Dinah saw how frantic the woman was about trying to collect all the papers she’d dropped. “It’s okay. Dropping paperwork isn’t the end of the world, right?”

“Yeah.” The lab technician said trying to get all her file back in order. “It’s just been a long day and I’m pretty sure Captain Pike wants to fire me. Do you know where Detective Maxwell is?”

“No. I can help you find her though. Why would Pike want to fire you?”

“Because, the chromatograph doesn’t have the same sense of urgency as the rest of us and I can’t wish it into functioning faster. Which means I just got the results back on that weird overdose in the Glades. So, yay, more bad news.”

Three days earlier, the body of a late twenties man was found in the Glades. All signs pointed to an accidental overdose, but the autopsy and lab tests pointed more towards some infectious disease than anything else. Team Arrow had come across a few other bodies killed in the same manor in the following days. They were still stumped when it came to what the cause of death was and how it killed.

“I worked that scene. Why are your results bad news?”

“They’re not bad, they just….don’t indicate an overdose. I’m pretty sure everyone wanted an open-and-shut case.”

Pretty soon, Taylor found the detective she was looking for and Dinah left. An hour later, on her way out of the precinct, Dinah saw a man walk over to a woman who was unlocking her car. Feeling uneasy, she shadowed the man and heard what he said.

“Taylor?”

“What?” the woman said turning around. Dinah realized it was the CSI from earlier.

“You shouldn’t have done that to me.” Before Taylor could react, he pulled something out of his pocket and stabbed her with it. The man ran off before Dinah could confront him, so the officer went to check on her colleague. Taylor was on the ground holding her side and was beginning to bleed heavily.

“I’ll go get the desk sergeant. There has to be a medic inside.” Dinah said standing up.

“No time. Hospital.” Taylor said before she passed out. Without thinking, Dinah got Taylor into her car and drove to the bunker. It was closer than the nearest hospital anyway.

* * *

 

**Present**

“How are we going to explain this though?” Curtis asked gesturing to the lair in general.

“We could always say I asked the Green Arrow for a favor.” Dinah suggested.

“Guys…” Felicity said looking behind them.

“No, that could actually work.”

“Guys!”

“What? It’s plausible.”

“But not necessary.” A voice said from behind Oliver.

“She’s awake.” Felicity said before walking off.

“Ms. Anderson-“ Oliver began.

“Taylor, please.”

“Taylor, I know this might be confusing for you but-“

“Oliver’s the Green Arrow.” Curtis blurted out. Everyone turned to glare at him.

“Oliver Queen the Green Arrow? What? No? Really?” Taylor said in an incredibly sarcastic voice. “My entire world has suddenly changed. What?” Everyone was silent.

“Ok…that is not the reaction I was expecting.” Felicity said. “It’s almost like-“

“I already knew? Yeah, I kinda did. Well I suspected.” Taylor admitted.

“How?”

“Seriously? I investigate things for a living. Do you want me to answer that alphabetically or chronologically?”

“Just….answer please.”

“Fine. One: timing. You were back from the dead, what two days, before the Hood showed up. Then, every time Oliver Queen mysteriously disappeared, the Arrow, or whatever name you were using at the time, was on vacation for just as long. The three months after the Undertaking, the few months between the Outbreak and the Green Arrow showing up. I could go on but I think I proved that point.”

“Timing alone doesn’t explain how you knew.”

“There’s also a few other things. Like how pretty much everyone you know is somehow connected to the Green Arrow. The Arrow saved Felicity from Count Vertigo and Deathstroke. Your sister’s ex revealed himself to be the Arrow even though he’s about three inches too short. You dropped out of the mayoral race right before the Green Arrow rescued your son. That’s a lot more than just coincidence. Dinah Drake moves to Star City a few days before a new Black Canary shows up. Don’t worry, I won't tell anyone.”  

"You won't?"

"One: you're not killing people anymore. Two: if I tell someone the mayor is the Green Arrow, why would they believe me? Someone does a very good job of making sure any evidence you leave gets destroyed." Taylor sighed. “Oh, and thanks to whoever patched me up. But a hospital would have been better.”

“Do you know why someone would want to kill you? I mean, it’s not because of a case, is it?” Dinah asked.

“Nope. You guys aren’t the only people in this city with a complicated past.” Taylor said, sitting up and moving to stand. “How likely do you think the ER is to believe I had a friend patch me up?”

“Not very. Why?” Diggle answered.

“It’s hard to send your psychotic ex back to prison when you can’t prove he just tried to kill you.” she said, gathering her things.

Dinah was silent for a moment. “I’m sorry, I-“

“Was just trying to help, I know. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to be back up my claims?”

“Of course.” Dinah said moving to follow her.

As the pair reached the elevator, Taylor turned back around. “It was nice meeting all of you, but let’s never do this again.”


	9. The Queen Siblings Through the Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After 6x01, I decided Thea and Thea/Oliver's relationship needed some love. Here's a few snippets of their relationship up to and including "Fallout". This gets a little sad at the end, so fair warning.

**January 1995**

Oliver Queen looked down at the tiny squirming blanket. After what felt like years of waiting, the ten-year old finally got to meet his new sister and he was disappointed.

“Why is she so small?” he asked. “She’s not gonna be fun to play with if she’s so small.”

“She’s a baby, Mr. Oliver. Babies are small. You used to be this small.” Raisa said kindly.

“Really?” He said with his eyes wide. “I don’t think so.”

The housekeeper bent down so that she was eye-level with the boy. “You were, but then you grew. Miss Thea’s going to get bigger, you just need to give her some time.”

“Then I can play with her?”

“Then, you can play with her.” the woman said smiling. 

* * *

 

**1998**

Oliver was avoiding doing his book report was he heard footsteps running towards him. He’d just turned to face the door when Thea ran in, holding her favorite stuffed animal. There were tears running down her face.

“Ollie?” she said sniffling.

“What is it Speedy?” he said standing up.

She sniffled a few times before replying. “I…. I had a bad dream and mommy and daddy aren’t here and I… “

He bent down to her level and opened his arms. “Come here.” Thea practically sprinted into her older brother’s arms. He hugged her tightly. “There’s nothing to worry about Speedy. You know why?” Thea shook her head. “Because I’m not gonna let anything bad happen to you. Okay?” Thea sniffled a few more times, but nodded. Oliver then stood up. “Now, let’s get you back to bed.”

* * *

 

**2002**

“Ollie!” a high pitch voice yelled. A few seconds later, Thea appeared.

“What is it Speedy?” Oliver asked reluctantly.

“Come watch Toy Story with me.” she grabbed his arms and tried to pull him with her, unsuccessfully.

“I can’t Speedy.”

She dropped his arm and looked angry. “Why not?”

Oliver looked back at Tommy, who nodded and left the mansion, before turning back to Thea. He sighed. “I promised Tommy and Laurel I’d hang out with them tonight.”

Max Fuller was throwing a party that night and, if the buzz was correct, it was going to be epic. Oliver loved his sister, but he certainly wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to party to watch Toy Story with his 7-year old sister.

“They can watch it with us!” Thea said, sounding optimistic. Oliver shook his head and she got annoyed. “Tommy’s stupid and Laurel is mean.” She pouted.

“We’ll watch it tomorrow, ok?” Oliver said, trying to please his sister and avoid her having a tantrum.

“Never mind.” Thea said storming away.

* * *

 

**2007**

**_Starling City_ **

Thea didn’t think she could cry any more tears. For the last four days, since the search for the Gambit had been called off, all she’d done is cry. Over the course of one night, half her family was gone and the 12 year old couldn’t even begin to process what that meant. Thea didn’t register anything her other had told her after “we lost contact with the Queen’s Gambit” until Moira returned a few days later with “they’ve called off the search”. Moira seemed to collapse into herself, unable and unwilling to leave her room or her bed. Thea was forced to deal with this, mostly on her own, with the help of Tommy and Raisa.

“What is it, Miss Thea?” Raisa asked when she saw Thea staring into space.

“Nothing. I…. have you ever felt like something is true even if everyone else says otherwise?” the girl asked and Raisa nodded, a little unsure of where she was going. “I…. I don’t think Ollie’s dead. I know it sounds crazy, and a little impossible, but I just can’t shake the feeling that he’s alive.”

**_Lian Yu_ **

In a brief peaceful moment, Oliver looked up at the night sky. He could see thousands of stars. “People trying to kill us aside, Thea would love this place.”

“Who’s Thea? The girl in that picture you carry?”

“Nah. Thea’s…. just another person who thinks I’m dead.” Oliver said reluctantly. If Laurel was Oliver’s reason to make it home, Thea was his reason to survive at all.

Oliver wondered how Thea was doing. He knew she was probably inconsolable with half her family missing. His mom probably had people looking for the Gambit the minute they lost contact and, hopefully, the search was still ongoing. He wanted, no needed, for them to find him. A sudden doubt came to the front of his mind. What if the search was already called off? Did they stop looking for him? Did Thea think he was dead? He certainly hoped not. Thea was a sweet girl and didn’t deserve that kind of pain.

“Kid, we don’t have the luxury to daydream about bringing girls here.” Slade said, snapping Oliver out of his reverie. “Pay attention. This might just save your life.”

Oh, right. Oliver was supposed to be learning survival skills, not thinking about home.

* * *

 

**2012**

Oliver braced himself as the car drove up to his family’s mansion. Five years never felt so long. Moira decided to gloss over how apprehensive Oliver felt and just kept talking.

“Your room is exactly how you left it. I never had the heart to change a thing.”

“Oliver.” A male British voice called out. “It’s damn good to see you.” Oliver looked at the man in confusion. “Walter, Walter Steele.”

“You remember Walter. Your father’s friend from the company.” Moira reassured him. Oliver nodded once and walked right past both of them to reunite with Raisa. After Moira and Raisa spoke about Tommy coming to dinner, Oliver heard a door open and moved towards the noise. Moira tried to regain his attention, but it was a lost cause. He kept walking until he was in front of the staircase.

“Hey sis.” He said to the person standing there. Now, he felt like he was home. He was worried for a second how Thea would react. Was she mad he’d been gone so long? Upset that he couldn’t save their father? Happy to have her brother back? Oliver was hoping for the last one, but after years of nothing working out the way it should, couldn’t count on it.

She came running down the stairs and hugged him. “I knew it. I knew you were alive. I missed you so much.”

“You were with me the whole time.” He whispered. 

* * *

 

**After “Corto Maltese”**

“Please Ollie?” Thea asked, sounding a little whiny.

Oliver felt completely lost. Thea’s request seemed to come out of nowhere.

“I…. I’m just not sure how helpful I can be, Speedy.” He finally said after Thea gave him a ‘did you even hear me’ look.

“What, does it conflict with your plans of whatever it is you do now that you’re jobless? Are you saying this is beyond your abilities?” Thea asked rhetorically.

Oliver, for a single moment, wanted to agree with Thea, this was beyond him. He at least had experience fighting crime and taking down criminals. What Thea wanted, not so much. It wasn’t hard but he didn’t really want to do it.

“You can’t ask Roy?” Oliver asked as a last resort.

“We broke up, remember? By default, he gets out of helping me.” Thea said exasperated. “It’s just moving, Ollie. Help me get my stuff from storage into my new place.”

Oliver was quiet for a moment and Thea threw her hands up in the air.

“Are you seriously saying you can’t help your favorite sister-“

“You’re my only sister.”

She continued like he hadn’t spoken. “Your favorite sister, move?”

Thea then decided to change tactics. She started to pout and gave Oliver her signature puppy eyes that got her whatever she wanted as a child. “Please, please, please, Ollie. It’s only like three boxes.”

“The eyes won’t work on me. Hire some movers.”

“Why would I do that when my big, strong brother who has nothing better to do can help me?” Thea asked, making the puppy eyes bigger and sadder. “Please Ollie?”

“Fine.” Oliver sighed. “But, next time, don’t try to be cute.”

“Not actually possible.” Thea said grinning. “See you tomorrow at 8.”

“Wait? We’re doing this at 8 am?” Oliver yelled at Thea’s retreating back.

* * *

 

**After “Taken”**

Oliver stood outside Laurel and Thea’s apartment, slightly panicking. Thea had called him an hour earlier and basically ordered him to come to the apartment. After convincing himself that Thea would’ve told him if there was an emergency, he knocked on the door.

Thea opened the door, smiling slightly. “Finally! Get in here.”

Oliver cautiously went inside and looked around, wondering what Thea needed him for. He noticed Laurel wasn’t there.

“What’s wrong Speedy?”

“Nothing.” Thea said walking into the kitchen. Oliver furrowed his brow and followed her. She reached into the freezer and pulled out a tub of ice cream, handing it to him. “Here.”

“You called me over here for ice cream.” Oliver asked confused.

“Not exactly. I called you over here for some post-break-up therapy.” Thea pulled out a few spoons.

“What?”

“Felicity just dumped you. She regained her ability to walk just in time to walk out the door. Even if you don’t blame her for that, it has to hurt.”

Oliver didn’t respond. It was true, Felicity walking away hurt him, but he still didn’t know what Thea was getting at. “So?”

“So, tonight we’re gonna fill your broken heart with ice cream.”

“Really Speedy?”

“Do you have a better idea other than sitting in the loft moping?” Thea asked.

Oliver shrugged, Thea was right. This was a welcome distraction. “Please tell me that’s Rocky Road.”

“Of course, Ollie. I’m not an amateur.” Thea said handing him a spoon and digging in.

* * *

  **Beginning of Season 5**

Thea walked into Oliver’s office at City Hall and saw her brother reading the newspaper.

“That’s never not gonna be weird.” She said looking at the headline. When he heard her voice, he lowered the paper slightly so he could see her.

“What’s not gonna be weird?”

Thea dropped into one of the chairs facing Oliver’s desk and explained. “You being the mayor. Actually, in general, just seeing you have a real job and being a responsible adult is weird. It’s kinda like seeing a dog walk on its hind legs.”

Oliver put the newspaper down and rolled his eyes. “Thea, I’ve been mayor for six months. I’m pretty sure the novelty has worn off for everyone by now. And I’ve had ‘real jobs’ since I came back.”

“Sure, but you didn’t take them as seriously.” Thea said. “I guess you’re right though, Mayor Handsome.”

Oliver closed his eyes and sighed. “Please don’t call me that. One: you’re my sister. Two: I hate that nickname. Three: you’re my sister.”

“Fine. Spoil most of my fun.” Thea said standing up and walking towards the door.

“Wait, did you come in here just to make fun of me?” Oliver was confused. Usually Thea came into his office for a reason, mostly to yell at him, but this time she'd just mocked him and left.

“I’m your little sister, of course I did. “ She said incredulously as she closed the door.

* * *

**Lian Yu/Fallout**

Thea ran after Samantha, trying to talk the older woman into getting to safety. She understood why Sam needed to know William was safe, but she also knew Samantha couldn’t help William if she got hurt trying to find him.

“Samantha, we need to-“ Thea yelled out, and then, everything went black.

It didn’t take long for Oliver to find Thea and Samantha. Once he ran into Slade, the former mercenary led him directly to the pair. After promising a dying Samantha that he’d look after William, Oliver moved over to Thea. He sobbed, nearly inconsolable until he felt it. Thea had a pulse, it was weak, but it was there. Oliver then started begging for his little sister to wake up and yelling for Slade, or anyone, to help get her off this island. She’d survived the Undertaking, Ra’s al Ghul, bloodlust from the Lazarus Pit. She had to survive this.

Unaware of Oliver’s pain, and the world around her, Thea slept. Her dreams were mostly memories, slightly rewritten. The time Oliver canceled a date because their parents were out and Thea was sick. He stayed home to watch Disney movies with her. She remembered the day Moira told her Oliver had been found. Her first date with Roy. The first time she went out as Speedy. Thea felt happy, but an emotion she couldn’t quite name loitered at the back of her mind. There was something she wanted, no needed to do, she just couldn’t figure out what it was.


	10. Unlikely friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nyssa and Felicity somehow become good friends, Sara is amused and Oliver is exasperated.  
> AU where Nyssa takes over the League, Sara is still a legend, Laurel lives, and the new team is formed a little bit later in time.

A small cry of “Oh shit” welcomed Oliver and Sara as they entered Team Arrow’s newest lair. Sara had returned to Star City a few days earlier for a short visit, bringing Nyssa with her. The League had no pressing business and the Legends had all agreed on taking a two week vacation from time travel. Plus, Sara knew it had been too long since she saw her dad or sister.

When both vigilantes heard the cry, they picked up their pace and practically sprinted into the main part of the lair. Prepared for a fight, they were confused when all they saw was Felicity standing there with both hands over her mouth and Nyssa standing off to the side laughing.

“Everything ok?” Oliver asked tentatively. Felicity jumped slightly before answering.

“Yeah, everything’s totally fine…..why would you think something wasn’t fine…..” she said nervously.

“Felicity, what happened?”

“Why are you so sure something happened?” she replied evasively.

“You’re rambling instead of babbling, you won’t look at me and we heard someone say “oh shit” right before we walked into the room.” Oliver replied calmly.

“Felicity and I were sparring, or attempting to spar at least. She was actually able to get one hit in. Her cry of surprise is what you heard.” Nyssa sounded equal parts annoyed at Oliver and proud of Felicity.

“You’re teaching Felicity how to fight? Why? I don’t want her to learn how to fight.”

“Your beloved asked for some advice and I gave her some.” Nyssa said evenly. “I wasn’t aware I needed your permission.”

“It’s not about what you want Oliver.” Felicity said, almost using her loud voice. “I am an adult. If I want to learn to defend myself, I will.”

“You know you don’t have to prove anything to us, right? Just because you aren’t in the field doesn’t mean you’re less valuable to the team.”

“That’s not what this is about. I don’t want to go out and beat up criminals every night. No offense, but that’s not my style. I just want to be able to defend myself if another situation happens like the Count, or Slade or a random mugger. You can’t follow me around 24/7 and I’d like to be able to save myself for once.”

“I knew there was a reason I liked you.” Sara said from the sidelines. “Cuteness aside, I mean.”

Oliver was still panicking about Felicity learning to fight, but he could tell he’d lost this argument and dropped the issue.

 

A few months later, Oliver had just returned from a three day visit to Central City for some mayor’s conference. He was walking into the loft when he saw something strange out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look and his brow furrowed when he saw what was embedded into the wall. Registering that he wasn’t hallucinating and there actually was a kitchen knife stuck in his wall, he immediately prepared himself for an attack. None came and he turned around in confusion.

Felicity was standing next to the couch with a ‘please don’t yell at me’ look on her face.

“Why is there a knife in the wall?”

“What do you mean? It’s always been there.” Felicity replied, purposefully avoiding Oliver's gaze.

“No, Felicity it hasn’t.” Oliver said, silently praying for patience. “What happened?”

“Promise not to yell?” he nodded and Felicity spoke. “So, right after you left, Sara and Nyssa dropped by. Sara went to see her dad, who still doesn’t really like Nyssa, leaving the two of us here alone….”

“Ok, and?”

“And, she asked for some help with computer stuff for the League and I was bored so I said yes. I kinda…..taught her some basic hacking skills so she could do some of it on her own. In return, she kinda taught me how to throw knives.”

“Nyssa taught you how to throw knives?!” Oliver yelled.

“You promised not to yell.”

“Yeah, when I thought you threw it at a spider or, you know, accidentally got it stuck into the wall.”

“Anyway, she taught me some basic knife-throwing skills and I was practicing when I heard the lock turn and I didn’t have time to…you know…..remove the knife from the wall.”

Oliver didn’t speak. Instead, he took a deep sigh, pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed it. Unsure of how to interpret his silence, Felicity followed Oliver upstairs.

“Put you girlfriend on the phone.” Oliver said angrily. “No, I’m not overreacting……..because I am angry Sara!......she taught Felicity how to throw knives!....yes it is a big deal……I don’t care if she was trying to be nice…..”

Felicity rolled her eyes and went back downstairs. She didn’t want to fight about this with Oliver right after he got home. Plus, both Sara and Nyssa would put him in his place about his hypocrisy right now.

 

“Why do you look so happy Blondie?” Rene asked. The new team had walked into the Arrow Cave and Felicity was grinning like a little kid on Christmas.

“Nyssa and Sara are visiting!” she replied excitedly.

“Why is that a good thing?” Rory asked warily.

“Because, Nyssa and Sara are awesome. And they’re badasses.”

“What about Nyssa and Sara?” Oliver said walking up to the group.

“Apparently, they’re coming to visit.” Diggle answered sounding amused. He knew why Oliver wouldn’t like this news. Digg had semi-retired from the team a few months ago. Being both a father and a masked vigilante had begun wearing on the man. If push came to shove, he’d help Team Arrow, but for the most part, he kept Felicity company in the bunker when he could.

“Great.” Oliver said sounding not excited at all.

“I take it you don’t like these Sara and Nyssa people?” Rene asked.

“Oh, he likes Sara just fine. It’s Nyssa he dislikes.” Felicity answered. “Just because we’re friends doesn’t mean-“

“She keeps trying to teach you how to do dangerous stuff!” Oliver said defensively."What is she gonna teach you this time? How to disarm a bomb with a toothpick?"

“We've already covered that. I don’t ‘try’ anything. I succeed.” Nyssa said from behind him. Everyone in the room jumped. Nyssa gave a small smile while Sara had a shit-eating grin on her face. “She likes learning new skills and I, as a good friend, help her in that endeavor. Shall we?” she asked Felicity. The blonde nodded and the pair left the bunker before Oliver could think of something to say.

“Face it Ollie.” Sara said. “Our baes have the weirdest but most awesome friendship of all time.”

“Easy for you to say. Your girlfriend is a trained assassin, mine isn't.“

"Relax, Laurel will make sure they don't get into too much trouble."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm debating writing some crossover-like works. Thoughts?


	11. Worst. Timing. Ever.

Felicity was sitting in her spinning chair in the Arrow cave when she suddenly felt a stabbing pain. The team was out in the field trying to catch the bomber who’d been targeting homeless shelters and other social services buildings in the city. According to the psychotic manifesto he’d sent to Channel 52, he was doing it to cleanse the city of its dead weight.

“Uhh….Green Arrow?” Felicity said over the comms.

“Overwatch, I can’t really talk right now.” The sounds of a fight could be heard on the other end.

“It’s kinda important.”

“Could you two fight when we’re not trying to catch a serial bomber?” John interjected.

“Sorry, Spartan, but this is kinda a big deal.” Felicity said shortly.

“Look, we found the bomb and I’m trying to disarm it as we speak, I really need you not to distract me.” Oliver said, a little agitated. “No sign of the suspect.”

“Oh, I’m sorry that I’m distracting.” Felicity said in her loud voice. “I’m just trapped in this bunker while nine months pregnant. Oh, and I’m pretty sure my water just broke!”

“Your water broke?” Oliver asked.

“Clearly, the baby has your sense of timing, man.” Digg said. “We deactivated the bomb, Overwatch. I’ll call Lyla, have her drive you to the hospital.”

“Great.” Felicity said before closing the line. She looked down at her prominent bump. “You have the worst timing ever.”


	12. Family Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Season 6 Finale AU (Basically, Diaz is defeated and Oliver doesn't go to jail. How this all happens isn't explained and I leave it to your imagination)

“Come on, Dad. Let’s go.” William shouted as he ran ahead of Oliver and Felicity.

“How does he have this much energy?” Oliver asked his wife. William had been bouncing from sheer excitement the entire ride to the amusement park and had practically sprinted from the car the second it was parked.

“He’s a teenage boy. And he hasn’t had a lot to be excited about recently.” Felicity answered.

Oliver might’ve told William not to worry about his trial or Ricardo Diaz, but that didn’t mean the teen would listen. Oliver was his father, and he’d already lost his mom. He couldn’t help but worry.

“Really? Is he- has he said anything to you?” the archer asked.

“No, but he’s a smart kid. And he was worried about you.” the blonde answered. “Today isn’t about that. Let’s just have a fun day, as a family.”

By this point, they’d caught up to William who was trying to decide which thing to do first.

“Rollercoasters or water rides?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?” Oliver responded.

“Both kinda. I love rollercoasters but I don’t know how you guys feel.” William said uncertain.

“I don’t like heights, so I don’t do roller coasters, so my vote’s for water rides.” Felicity said.

“You don’t like coasters at all?” William asked.

“I’ll do Tower of Terror or kiddie rides. I don’t do anything that has real twists and turns.” She explained. “You wanna ride the coaster for little kids, let me know.”

“Oh.” William said, sounding disappointed.

“If you wanna ride this one, ride it.” Felicity said, pointing towards one of the bigger coasters in the park. “I’m sure your dad will go with you.”

“But you said it was Family Day. Aren’t we supposed to do it together?” William asked. Felicity had been very serious about having a fun, family day. She even left her tablet at home.

“It’s okay. You two go on the rides. Afterwards, you and I’ll share a funnel cake, which Oliver won’t eat any of.” She said. “Then, to the waterpark area. That way, everyone wins.”

William and Oliver rode four or five of the coasters. Felicity and William went a little overboard with the funnel cake and cotton candy. The Queens spent most of the day in the waterpark section of the park. Oliver spotted an archery-related carnival game and won several prizes for both Felicity and William. By the time they got back to the car, William was yawning.

“I think we tired him out.” Oliver said as he looked into the backseat. William was starting to doze off.

“Well, it was a fun day. Fun days take a lot of out you.”

“I’m glad we did this.” He said.

“Me too. It was nice, having family time with nothing else going on.”

“We should go to the planetarium next time.” William said from the backseat.

“Yeah, we really should!” Felicity said excitedly.

Oliver chuckled and shook his head in amusement.


	13. What if Oliver wasn't so forgiving?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if Oliver didn't take NTA's actions so lightly? What if Oliver's deal with Watson was a little different? What if he didn't want to save everyone all the time? And, lastly, what if he knew about a loophole when he made that deal?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Premiere Day! I'm so excited!!!!  
> Anyway, here's a what-if scenario based on the ending of Season 6.
> 
> As an aside, Flashpoint changed one thing that happened in Season 4. You'll know it when you see it.

Oliver walked into the building the FBI was working out of. Diaz had taken over the city, Oliver had sworn to take it back, but right now, he couldn’t do it alone. He wouldn’t risk waiting either.

Sure, Dinah, Curtis and Rene were tentatively on his side once again, and he and John had repaired things somewhat, but they didn’t have the resources. His base and his ex-teammates’ base were destroyed by Diaz. ARGUS couldn’t get involved, so this was his last option, Agent Watson.

“Marks said you wanted to see me.” Watson said as he walked into the room. “Now, what could the mayor, sorry former mayor, want to talk about with me?”

“Ricardo Diaz.” He stated before informing Watson of everything Diaz had done over the last seven months. He knew she was aware of some of it, but could tell a few things were news to her. He finished his speech by admitting he was the Green Arrow.

“What’s your goal here? Are you hoping if you give me Diaz, I’ll forget about you and your team? Ignore all the laws you’ve broken and get a free pass. Sorry, the FBI doesn’t work that way.”

“That’s not what I’m asking for. I want to save my city from Diaz, that’s all I want.” Oliver said. “And I’d like to negotiate a deal for me and my team.”

“Let me guess? Immunity. Your team will get immunity, there’s no way you’re getting it.”

“I told you earlier, I’m not here for an immunity deal.” He said. He was thankful he’d called Lyla back before coming to meet with Watson.

 

Things hadn’t gone according to plan. Diaz’s operation was exposed, and the FBI had rounded up almost all of his people, but Diaz himself managed to escape and Quentin was shot trying to protect Black Siren. As the team were waiting in the hospital, Watson approached.

“Mr. Queen? It’s time.”

“Time? Time for what?” Felicity asked.

“Sorry I haven’t been able to…explain this to everyone. There hasn’t been any time.”

“There wasn’t time to explain what?”

Watson didn’t speak but gestured to the two agents with her and they began to cuff Oliver.

“You’re arresting us? I thought you said we had immunity.” Rene asked.

“You do, for everything that happened in the last 24 hours. Thanks to him.” Watson answered. “The only person who has complete immunity is her.” She nodded towards Felicity. “And as a professional courtesy, we aren’t arresting Mr. Diggle.”

“Wha-?” Felicity started to say.

“It was the only way-.”

“You can’t do this, the judge threw out his case.” Dinah argued.

“Yes, I can. It’s federal.” The agent said.

“Federal.” She scoffed.

“I’d rather not cause a scene in the hospital, so I’d appreciate you three not trying to resist.”

Everyone was stunned. They could understand Oliver making a deal. They could see why Watson would require Oliver’s confession as a condition. They couldn’t understand why Oliver had only fought for Felicity’s immunity or why he’d misled them.

“Oliver, how could-?”

“We could’ve beaten Diaz, but you decided your egos were more important than the city and that made it worse. I tried to explain my reasons, I tried to meet you in the middle. Your refusal to listen backed me into a corner, so I had to make a deal. The one person who didn’t add to that as her.” he said.

“But what-?”

“We’ll talk about the charges and sentences at the City Hall.” Watson said.

The FBI was about to escort them away when Dr. Schwartz came into the hallway. She broke the news the Quentin had died as a result of a complication during his surgery. Sara broke down crying and Felicity comforted her.

As they were reacting to the news, a click-clack of high heels could be heard walking down the hallway.

“Good. You’re still here.”

“You have got to be kidding me.” Felicity said. “Now?”

“Nice to see you too, Ms. Smoak. Or is it Mrs. Queen now?” Amanda Waller said. “Release my operative, Agent Watson.”

“You died.” Digg pointed out.

“No, I got shot in the head. Good thing ARGUS has doctors.” Waller said. “I wasn’t making a suggestion. Oliver Queen is an ARGUS operative. All of his ‘crimes’ were a part of him completing his mission. You cannot arrest him for that.”

“If he’s an ARGUS operative, why didn’t he say anything earlier? And why didn’t Director Michaels?”

“It’s called a cover for a reason. And Agent Michaels didn’t have the clearance to know.” she answered.

“Your luck never seems to run out, does it?” Watson remarked as she uncuffed Oliver.

The other three were escorted out of the building, yelling as they went. Oliver, Felicity, Waller, Digg and Sara all stood in the hallway staring at one another.

“You knew, didn’t you? Before you made the deal. You knew Waller was alive and you wouldn’t be going to prison.”

“Yeah. Lyla left me a message right before I left to talk to Watson. I called her back only for Amanda to pick up the phone.”

“Good thing you did. Who knows what stupid deal you would’ve made if you hadn’t.” Waller deadpanned before turning to Felicity. “You don’t seem surprised I’m alive.”

“You’re Amanda Waller, I don’t think you can die.”

“I hope you learned a lesson from this, Mr. Queen. Choose your team more carefully in the future.” She said before turning to leave. “You'll be hearing from me real soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I was rewatching season 6 and in some of the episodes, NTA really pissed me off, so that's how this chapter happened.


	14. Confrontations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's decision to find and catch Diaz doesn't go over well with everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prior to 7x02, I wanted to tell my version of Felicity's attitude now that she'd decided to go after Diaz. She isn't super nice.

Felicity leaned back after she explained why she was going back to Starling and what she planned to do. She was going to catch Diaz.

“I can’t let you do this.” John told her.

The response wasn’t surprising. Its all she heard for the last five months. About looking for Diaz. About seeing Oliver. About calling her mother. It’s too dangerous. We'll handle it. It’ll be over soon. Just wait a little bit longer.

“I’m not asking your permission. I'm telling you.”

“Felic-“

“Don’t ‘Felicity’ me! You aren’t doing anything about Diaz, so I have to.” Felicity wasn't stupid. She could tell teh difference between not having a solution and not looking for one. She also was sick of being told to wait and let somebody else solve the problem. It had been five months, that clearly wasn't working.

“There are bigger things at stake.”

“Diaz took everything from me. My husband, my family, my life. I don’t have anything to lose.”

“You aren’t the only one who’s life got turned upside down.”

“Aren’t I? Did you have to abandon your whole life five months ago? Spend everyday miserable and unable to see the people you love? Isolated from everyone you knew and not knowing when you could go home? No, you got to go home to Lyla and JJ every night like nothing ever happened.”

“ARGUS will handle it.”

“Well, you’ve done a great job so far. He found us, he nearly killed us. Great going, ARGUS. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised though. You weren’t even looking for him.”

“What are you-?”

“Don’t look me in the eye and lie to me. You weren’t looking for him. No one was looking for him.” She yelled. “And you’re surprised I’m done doing things your way.”

The door behind her opened. “Johnny, I-“

“He’s busy.” Felicity told Lyla.

“He has-“

“I don’t care. I’m not done. You can wait five minutes.” She said before turning around. “Unless you’d like to tell me what I want to know. Please, at least respect me enough to tell me to my face why no one has even been looking for Diaz.” The silence that ensued told her everything she needed to know. “Wow. Well, thanks for showing me how important our friendship was to you.” She sighed. “Thanks for making your position clear. Have a nice life.”

“Felicity, it isn’t-“

“Let her go Johnny.”

 

When it became clear Felicity wasn’t going to back down, or listen to John, he decided to call in some back-up. Curtis called her wanting to meet. She arrived at the designated place to find John, Dinah and Curtis all there waiting.

“John told us what you’re planning. We can’t let you do this.”

“Of course he did and of course you can’t.” she deadpanned. “Just like John, you don’t have a reason to care.”

“What does that-We don’t have a reason to care?”

“Well, you three benefitted from Oliver going to prison and Diaz not being found. I noticed Rene’s not here. Is he just busy or did you know he wouldn’t agree?”

“How did we-?”

“Well, Curtis got a shiny new job at ARGUS. Dinah got promoted to Captain. And John, well, he already knows what I’m gonna say. Hell, even Black Siren got something out of this situation. So, why should you care if Diaz is at large or Oliver’s still in prison or how miserable I am? You came out of it better off.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Yes, it is. You three spent five months sitting on your asses, not doing anything to catch Diaz. Not even looking. And I know what you’re going to say. You’re gonna bring up the deal with the FBI. Last time I checked, there’s nothing illegal about trying to find someone, especially a police officer or a federal agency.”

“He was in hiding, he wasn’t hurting anyone.”

“Tell that to the bruises still on my face. He broke into my house, he attacked me. He nearly killed William and I. So, no, that doesn’t work. All of your ‘you need to wait’, ‘let us handle it’ ‘it’ll be over soon’ is a bunch of bullshit.” She stood up and headed towards the door.

“Wait-“

“No, I’m done waiting. I’ll deal with it myself.” She walked out of the door. Maybe she’d call in a favor or two. She might not need John, Dinah or Curtis, but she could use some help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted/needed to touch on the 'my life went to shit, you got a promotion' aspect of what's happening so far because I feel/hope that gets brought up when she meets resistance from other people.


	15. Priorities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Felicity first gets the news about Oliver getting sent to Level Two, someone calls to ask a favor. The timing couldn't be worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you might think this is a little mean towards certain characters.

Felicity had just come back from Slabside and was pacing Rene’s apartment. She hadn’t been able to see Oliver. He had been sent to Level Two. None of the guards would tell her where he was. The warden claimed Oliver had been sent to Level Two ‘in the interests of everyone’s safety, including his own’ but wouldn’t answer any questions beyond that.

She needed a plan. She needed information. She needed someone to help her figure this out. As panic set in, her phone rang. Not thinking she answered it.

“Hello?”

“Felicity? We kinda need-“ Barry said from the other end.

“I’ll call you back.” she said before hanging up.

He must’ve used his superspeed to redial, because her phone started ringing again. “Felicity, this is kinda-“

“Is the world gonna end in the next thirty seconds?”

“No.”

“Good. I’ll call you back.” she hung up again. The phone rang again. “How many times do I have to do this to you Barry?”

“It’s not Barry. Wanna explain why you don’t wanna help us?”

“I don’t have time right now, Iris!” she yelled before hanging up the phone. Again.

It was quiet for a few moments before her phone rang again. “What?!”

“Why did you yell at and then hang up on Iris?”

“Because I don’t know how to make it any clearer to you or her that I don’t have time for whatever it is you need right now.”

“It’s an emergency.”

“I don’t care! I’m dealing with my own emergency right now.”

“But Nora-“

“My husband is missing! Ok, Oliver is missing. I don’t know where he is! So Nora, whoever the hell that is, can wait.”

“She’s my daughter from the future and-“

“So, I’m supposed to put your family before my own? My husband is missing, since you weren’t listening the first time. He could be dead for all I know! You can deal with your problem yourself, or you can wait.” She slammed the phone down. The scarlet speedster was smart enough not to call back.

 

Two months later, after Oliver was out of prison, Felicity ran into Barry and Iris at Sara’s engagement party.

“Are you seriously not going to apologize?” the pair from Central City both asked her.

“Apologize for what? Having my priorities in the right order.”

“Our family-“

“Your family isn’t more important than mine. If the situation was reversed, you would’ve made the same choice I made.” She said before walking away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, I don't hate Barry or Iris. I just hate the double standard that keeps popping up between the two shows and characters within those shows.


	16. Finally! (Post 7x07)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity during the car ride back from Slabside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short little scene that I couldn't get out of my head after the episode last night.

Oliver and Felicity finally broke apart after who knows how long. Neither of them could believe it. Oliver was here, he was free. After over six months apart, he could touch his wife. Felicity didn't have to worry about her husband being in prison. Tears were pouring down both of their faces.

"Hey, hey." Oliver said, wiping her tears away. "Please don't cry."

"How can I not? You're here. I'm just so-." She didn't know how to end that sentence. Happy? Relieved? She then noticed something. "Where's John?"

Her question was answered when an SUV pulled up behind her. The passenger window rolled down when it came to a stop. "I thought you two might want a moment alone. Ready to get out of here?"

"You have no idea." Felicity said as she grabbed Oliver's hand and led him to the car. She didn't want to let go of him, not even for a moment. She wasn't completely sure that this was real, that he was really a free man. His grip on her hand was strong, like she'd disappear if he let go.

They got settled in the backseat and Digg drove away. "I know we need to talk."

"We do, but not now. Right now, I just wanna sit here with you and enjoy having you next to me again." Felicity told him. "Because I missed you so, so much and you're finally here and I want our reunion to be happy before we deal with all of the real world stuff. So instead, let's just talk about things that aren't critical and- I'm babbling."

"I know." He said with a small smile. "I missed that a lot."

They started talking. It was mostly little things. The email she'd gotten from William a few days ago telling her about his new school. A few funny customer stories from her life as Erin the barista. He talked to her about reading _The Count of Monte Cristo._ It was the only thing he'd done in the last six months that wouldn't upset her.

As they spoke, the last six hours caught up to Oliver. He'd been tazed, stabbed, beaten, knocked out and nearly set on fire. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off. He didn't want it to wear off. He was safe now. He was free and all he wanted to do was sit here and talk with Felicity. Instead, he could hardly keep his eyes open.

Felicity noticed he was starting to lose focus. She pulled him down so that his head was resting in her lap. "You don't have to stay awake for me."

"But I want to. I just want to sit here and talk with my wife." He said looking up at her.

"I know." She said. "It's a long ride home, so you should rest and we can talk later." She reached into her bag on the floor and pulled a package of baby wipes out. "Ever since that time I watched JJ and forgot the wipes, I've had these in my bag. Looks like they've finally come in handy." She pulled one out and gently began cleaning the blood off of Oliver's face. 

"I love you." He said sleepily.

"I love you too."


	17. After 'Elseworlds'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the 'Elseworlds' event, Felicity finds out a few things that happened when Oliver and Barry body-swapped. Needless to say, she isn't too happy. And she gets some help expressing her feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it isn't obvious, I was not a huge fan of how Oliver was treated in the first episode of Elseworlds.

One week after the Monitor and Deegan were defeated, Barry and Iris woke up one morning to find a message from Felicity. It didn't say much, just that she really needed to talk to both of them that day and an address outside Central City to meet her at. The pair were confused, but didn't think too much of it and headed to where she told them. The address led them to an empty office building.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Iris said looking up at the structure. "I mean, are we sure Felicity's really the one who messaged us?"

"It came from her number, the message sounded like something she'd write and I even called her just to be sure." Barry assured his wife. "She might pick weird places to meet, but it was Felicity."

They entered the building to see Felicity sitting out in the open office area. The door closed behind them and both of them turned to see Oliver standing there. They waved but he didn't say anything or make eye contact. Felicity's arms were crossed and she had a frown on her face.

Barry tried to break the tension. "So, Felicity, what's going on that you needed to drag us out here, to this office building in the middle of nowhere."

"We need to talk."

"And we couldn't do that at Star Labs?"

"No." Star Labs was Barry's turf. Felicity wasn't going to give him home field advantage. They were outside the city because things might get messy and loud. "I wanna talk about some things that happened last week."

"Oliver-"

"I'm not involved in this." The archer said. "She has some things she wants to say."

"Ok, what is-?"

"First of all, how fracking dare you?!"

"What do you-?" Barry said.

"No, not you, her." She said, pointing to Iris. "Yeah, Oliver told me everything you said to him, about how much of horrible person he is. About how you told him to his face how much of a monster you think he is."

"I-"

"I'm not done." Felicity cut her off. "Oliver might've killed people, but he's never erased someone from existence. He didn't change the timeline to suit his own selfish needs. When he wasn't able to save someone, like say Ronnie or Eddie, he actually felt bad about it for longer than a few minutes. Oh, and by the way, thank you for telling him all the things I told you, in confidence."

"Iris didn't-"

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no." Felicity cut Barry off. "We haven't even gotten to the part where she drugged my husband because she didn't like what he was telling her. How about next time Barry pisses me off, I give him some nanites and lock him up somewhere?" Iris opened her mouth to talk. "Yeah, no. I don't wanna hear it. Whatever excuse you have, whatever justification, save it."

"Iris was only doing-" Barry started to defend his wife.

"If I don't want to hear her excuses, I don't want to hear you make excuses of her." She said in a low voice. "But, let's talk about you, Barry. Let's talk about what happened on the Kent farm. When you shot him with arrows and decided that was funny."

"It was just-"

"I know, you were waiting four years to do that. He shot you as a training exercise and immediately apologized for doing it. You shot him for some 'now we're even' reason and took pictures of it and decided to laugh while he was still in pain."

It was at this moment that two arrows pierced Barry's back. He howled in pain. Oliver was still standing by the door. A figure wearing an outfit similar to Oliver's stepped out of the shadows with their bow drawn. Iris moved to remove the arrows.

"Do it and I'll just shoot him again." The figure said. "I've got plenty of arrows."

"Ha ha ha ha ha." Felicity deadpanned. "Wait, let me take a picture." After about thirty seconds, Oliver walked over and removed the arrows. "Your healing might be a little slowed. I don't know what the new Green Arrow laced those with."

"You poisoned me?"

"It's a very powerful anticoagulant. It'll wear off before you make it back into the city."

"What was the point of all of this?"

"Well, one: I wanted both of you to know how pissed off I am at you. Two, I wanted to remind both of you that, despite your delusions otherwise, neither of you should really be judging Oliver or me."

"Meaning?"

"Stop acting like your shit doesn't stink." New Green Arrow said.

"Last point, we're done with you idiots." Felicity said. "What happened was one insult too far, one jab too many at Oliver's expense. Clean up your own messes from now on."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. I'm sick of ignoring this pattern of behavior and I'm tired of you crapping on everything my husband does." She stood and turned to leave. "You've made your opinion of Oliver very clear, so you shouldn't need our help ever again."

The trio from Star City walked out of the building. "Are all your attempts at family bonding going to end up like this?" Emiko asked after she removed her mask.

"I really hope not.'


End file.
